1. What is Service Availability?

Service Availability measures the percentage of time a service is operational during its scheduled availability. It's a key metric for small businesses to assess their service reliability and uptime.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the availability formula:

Where:

• \( Operating\ Time \) — Actual time the service was available (hours)
• \( Scheduled\ Time \) — Total time the service was scheduled to be available (hours)

Explanation: The formula calculates what percentage of scheduled time the service was actually operational.

3. Importance of Availability Calculation

Details: Tracking service availability helps businesses identify downtime patterns, measure service reliability, and improve customer satisfaction by maintaining consistent service levels.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both operating time and scheduled time in hours. Operating time cannot exceed scheduled time. Both values must be positive numbers.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is considered good availability for a small business?
A: Most businesses aim for 99% or higher availability, though this depends on the industry and service type.

Q2: How should I measure operating time?
A: Track actual uptime using monitoring tools or service logs that record when your service was functional.

Q3: What factors typically reduce availability?
A: Common causes include maintenance downtime, unexpected outages, system failures, and network issues.

Q4: How often should I calculate availability?
A: Regular monitoring (daily/weekly/monthly) helps identify trends and address issues promptly.

Q5: Can availability exceed 100%?
A: No, since operating time cannot exceed scheduled time, availability should never be more than 100%.